Due to the rapid absorption and short half-life of FSH, superovulation of cattle has traditionally been done with 7 or 8 bi-daily injections of FSH over a four day period. Restraining beef cattle for multiple injections involves time and expense. In addition, depending on breed and handling facilities, there are various degrees of stress to the cattle and increased risk of injury to both cattle and humans.

Trials conducted during the recent past involving Angus and Simmental cattle in Argentina demonstrated that when Folltropin was diluted in the glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan, two injections of Folltropin 48 h apart resulted in superovulation and embryo production comparable to the traditional 8 injection protocol (Tribulo, et al., 2011, 2012). The diluent containing hyaluronan is now characterized as a slow release diluent (SRF). These studies were extended to field trials in the United States in the summers of 2010 and 2011.

The trials involved superovulation of Bos taurus beef cattle in 6 commercial embryo transfer (ET) programs either on farm or housed in embryo transfer facilities. Half of the donors (controls) were superovulated with 8 injections of Folltropin-V (Bioniche Animal Health, Inc.), while the other half were injected twice with Folltropin-V reconstituted in a slow release formulation (SRF) diluent containing 0.5% hyaluronan (Map 5, Bioniche). The study was divided into two phases: 1) In 2010, cows were each superovulated once by 6 ET practitioners in either a control (n=63) or treatment group (n=57); 2) In 2011, cows (n=46) were each superovulated twice in a cross-over design by three ET practitioners.

Animals were synchronized prior to the start of FSH injections by one of 4 protocols: 1) FSH was started between days 8 and 13 of the cycle; 2) Use of a CIDR and GnRH with FSH started two days later; 3) Use of a CIDR and estradiol 17B with FSH started 4 days later; or 4) Insertion of a CIDR with FSH started 4 days later. Control females received 8 injections of descending doses of FSH totaling 260 to 400 mg. On the day that FSH injections were initiated (Day 0) for all four synchronization protocols, controls received the first of 8 twice-daily FSH descending doses of FSH, while donors in the treatment group received a dose of FSH in SRF diluent totaling 67% of the total amount of FSH given to control donors. Treatment donors received the remaining 33% of SRF FSH 48 h later, on day 2. Both treatment and control donors received two injections of PG on day 2 or 3 and CIDRs were pulled on day 3. All animals were inseminated with one or two straws of semen at 12 and 24 hours following onset of standing estrus. Donors were flushed 7 days after onset of estrus and all ova/embryos counted and graded for stage and quality.

There was no effect of year on any category of ova/embryos recovered nor was there any treatment by year interaction. The least squares means of ova/embryos for both years combined are presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Least squares means of ova/embryos recovered from control versus treated donors in years 1 and 2 combined.

Group

Number

Ova

Embryos

UFO

Degen.

Controls

109

14.0±1.0

7.9±0.8

3.4±0.5

2.7±0.4

Treatment (SRF)

103

12.2±1.0

6.8±0.8

3.1±0.5

2.4±0.4

There were no significant differences (ANOVA) in the number of ova, transferable embryos, unfertilized ova or degenerate embryos recovered from the control versus the SRF groups. The trials conducted in the United States demonstrated that Bos taurus beef cattle can be successfully superovulated with only two injections of FSH reconstituted in an SRF diluent and involving a variety of synchronization protocols. The SRF diluent is available from Bionich Animal Health, Inc.

Greetings fellow AETA members: As the summer heat settles in, we wish everyone a safe and relaxing season. The year tends to pass quickly, and we continue to gear up for our annual convention in beautiful Colorado Springs. We thank Dr. Matt Dorshorst and his convention planning team for their outstanding efforts on this convention.[…]

Dear AETA members: The purpose of AETA is to unite those organizations and individuals in the United States engaged in the embryo transfer industry into an affiliated federation operating under self- imposed standards of performance and conduct. As AETA delivers on education and standards of quality through its certification program, we become the “voice” for[…]

The 2019 AETA-CETA/ACTE Joint Annual Convention will be held from October 24–26, 2019, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The conference will take place at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort. All of the AETA scientific, social and exhibitor information can be found on the AETA Annual Convention page as it becomes available. Check back often! Colorado Springs is[…]

The AETA/AASRP 2019 Small Ruminant Embryo Transfer Seminar was held June 19 to 22, 2019, at The Ohio State University Large Animal Services satellite veterinary teaching hospital in Marysville, Ohio. The meeting was organized by Dr. Eric Gordon. The course started on Wednesday, June 19, with a review of small ruminant reproductive physiology by Dr.[…]

The AABP office has received questions from members regarding the legality of using compounded estradiol products in cattle for embryo transfer protocols. AABP has also been in discussion with the FDA about the use of compounded estradiol products in food animals. Compounding from approved drugs in animals is only permitted under the narrowly defined conditions[…]

Read full paper here C. Wrenzycki http://dx.doi.org/10.21451/1984-3143-AR869 Anim Reprod, vol.13, n3, p.279-282, 2016 Abstract Over the past decades in vitro production (IVP) of bovine embryos has been significantly improved. Nevertheless, embryos generated in vitro still differ from their in vivo produced counterparts. Embryos must adjust to multiple microenvironments at preimplantation stages. Consequently, maintaining or mimicking the in[…]

By Dr. Matt Iager, 2019 AETA President Greetings to you from AETA. As spring business gears up, don’t forget to take time to interact with friends and family and thank the farmers and ranchers who provide the avenue for our services. AETA has been busy focusing and planning for a fun and successful 2019! In[…]

The 2019 AETA-CETA/ACTE will be held from October 24–26, 2019, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The conference will be held at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort. All of the AETA scientific, social, and exhibitor information can be found on the AETA Annual Convention page as it becomes available. Check back often! Colorado Springs is a wonderful city[…]

Submitted by Dr. Kevin Lindell Recently, Dr. Rachael Gately, Tufts Veterinary Field Service, had the opportunity (through a collaborative research project) to explore the realm of small ruminant ovum pick-up (OPU)/in vitro fertilization (IVF). We thought it would be interesting to the membership to relay our initial experiences and challenges. To date, donors have been[…]